- An Allegiant Air flight to Florida on Wednesday experienced violent turbulence before it landed.
- A passenger told WFLA she saw a flight attendant get thrown into the air like Neo from "The Matrix."
An Allegiant Air flight to Florida was hit by turbulence so violent that a passenger saw a flight attendant get tossed into the air like Neo from "The Matrix."
"She was literally like Matrix. Watched her go up in the air, and just land straight down. She broke her ankle," passenger Lisa Spriggs told Florida television station WFLA.
"Another stewardess in the back broke her ankle, bone was protruding," Spriggs continued.
"The plane felt like it dropped pretty considerably. Several people, including a lady in my row, hit the ceiling," another passenger named Paul Harris told WFLA.
Spriggs and Harris were among the 179 passengers aboard Allegiant Flight 227. The plane was making its way on Wednesday from Asheville, North Carolina, to St. Petersburg in Florida, per the airline's statement to Insider. Allegiant Air told Insider the flight "experienced severe turbulence" before landing normally, and the plane later "taxied to the gate under its own power."
According to the flight tracking platform FlightAware, the plane's altitude dropped by around 5,000 feet in less than two minutes.
Allegiant Air also told Insider that airport paramedics assessed "two passengers and two flight attendants for injuries" before "they were transported to the hospital for further evaluation." The airline said that "six additional passengers were assessed by paramedics and released on site."
Editor's note: July 13, 2023 — This story has been updated with responses from Allegiant Air.